Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale

This is a English Amber Ale from Montana.

What is it about breweries and dogs, anyway?  I see more dogs on labels than anything else.  Dogs and devils.  Some devilish dogs as well.

This one is a nice looking black lab named "Chug" featuring the inscription "No whiners."

Enough about the label … let’s see how it tastes:  Aggressive and tangy, this brew features a vivid hoppiness that rides herd over the flavors, keeping the malts in line and preventing them from straying.  It energetically tingles the tongue right before the hops bloom, the bitterness swells, the beer fairies sing and dance, and it all fades to a clean malt finish. 

I like it.

I hereby honor "Chug" the black dog as an officially groovy brew, and award it 6.7 on the Holy Grail Scale.